Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs will not be headed to Paris 2024, after losing a tight match with Jason Nolf, 3-0, at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials on Friday (19 April) in State College, Pennsylvania, in the tough 74 kg weight class.
It ended a dramatic day for London 2012 champ Burroughs, and could mark the end of his storied career.
Nolf was aggressive on offense in their men's freestyle Challenge Tournament Final, trying for a takedown late in the first period that was then canceled on a challenge. He kept pushing the pace throughout, earning a takedown early in the second round, then held on to win by decision.
Nolf will go on to face Kyle Dake in the Olympic Trials Final on Saturday. Dake won bronze at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021. They last faced off in the best two out of three series deciding who would represent the U.S. at the 2023 World Championships. Dake won both matches, then went on to win the world title. Nolf has never beat Dake at the senior level.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
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The loss ended a contentious day for 2012 Olympic gold medalist Burroughs.
In his Challenge Tournament semi-final match with Mitchell Messenbrink, the two wrestlers exchanged heated words following rough wrestling that both Messenbrink and Burroughs thought had crossed a line. Fans also showed their displeasure, and the chippiness continued after the wrestlers left the mat having refused to shake hands following the top seed's 8-3 win. Messenbrink’s coach Casey Cunningham and Burroughs’ coach Mark Manning were seen yelling at each other in front of the media tribune at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Aaron Brooks continues winning ways
Just one month ago, Aaron Brooks won his fourth NCAA wrestling title, becoming just the seventh collegiate wrestler to do so. On Friday, he continued to win, finishing off the day with a 7-6 win in the challenge tournament finals over Zahid Valencia at 76 kg men’s freestyle.
It was a close match throughout. Brooks’ high-flying takedown of Valencia earned him three points, but Valencia followed that with a four-point takedown. The match was tied with eight seconds left. Since Valencia had the higher-scoring move, he would have had the criteria advantage.
But Valencia was penalized for grabbing Brooks’ singlet. Valencia’s corner wanted to challenge the referees’ call, but Valencia threw the block coaches use to ask for a challenge back to his corner. Brooks won the match 7-6.
This sets up an all-Nittany Lion matchup at Bryce Jordan Center, the home of Penn State wrestling. Brooks will face David Taylor, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist, who graduated from Penn State in 2014. Both men are coached by Cael Sanderson, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist who transformed the Penn State program.
In other standout matches, Audrey Jimenez is a high schooler, and won her 50kg freestyle contest with Sage Mortimer 10-6, to set up Trials Final against Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Hildebrandt.
Payton Jacobson was the seventh seed at 87 kg in Greco-Roman, and he won his Challenge tournament finals match 1-1. Jacobson will face Spencer Woods
Olympic bronze medalist J’den Cox retires
Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist J’den Cox bowed out of the sport with defeat on Friday.
Cox lost in the semi-finals to Kollin Moore, 2-2 with Moore winning by criteria. Cox crouched on the mat and thought for a while, and then talked to his coach Kevin Jackson, before returning to the middle of the mat and taking off his wrestling shoes, signifying his retirement from the sport. The crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the mat for the final time.
“I think if I’m losing to guys I was beating before, I’m doing a disservice to myself and them to stay a part of it,” Cox said to NBC after his match. “I think now, my life with my wife and my kids, I’m in a position now where I’m done trying to conquer the world. I’m going to try to make it better for them. That’s my goal from here on out.”
